As computers and computer networks become more and more able to access a wide variety of information, people are demanding more ways to obtain that information. Specifically, people now expect to have access, on the road, in the home, or in the office, to information previously available only from a permanently-connected personal computer hooked to an appropriately provisioned network. They want graphical maps of locations from their cell phones, access to calendars from their personal digital assistants (PDAs), up-to-date contact information from their email devices, and timely, accurate search results from all their devices. They also want all of this information when traveling, whether locally, domestically, or internationally, in an easy-to-use, portable device.
Some systems provide information to a user when the user calls from a cell phone. For example, a user interested in the address for a particular business can call a directory service, where a customer service representative can provide the user with the business's address. This information, however, may not be provided in graphical form, for example, as a map. Additionally, other useful information, such as directions to the location and other similar businesses nearby may not be provided by the customer service representative. Also, the user may have to wait until a customer service representative is available to take the user's call.
In other systems, a user may enter a request for information, such as a map of a business location, by inputting the request using a keypad of a mobile device. Portability, however, generally requires a device small in size, which in turn limits the number of data entry keys and the amount of memory and available processing power. In addition, ultra portable devices often must be held in one hand or not held at all, so that data entry must be one-handed or no-handed. This can make entering information to obtain rich content, such as graphical maps, difficult.